Shirt type garment



Oct. 2, 1951 R; SPARE 2,569,643

SHIRT TYPE GARMENT Filed Sept. 1, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LOLA R. 5PAR BY H5? ATTORNEKS. Harm/s, mac/4, Fosral? 6c Heme/s 5v M cow;

Oct. 2, 1951 1.. R; SPARE 2,569,643

SHIRT TYPE GARMENT Filed Sept. 1, 195 0 2 shees-sheet 2 //v|//v7'o/?. Lam R. SPA/P5 W 25 BY HER ATTORNEYS. HA 122/5, KIECH, F05 TE diHHRR/S Patented Oct. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES omen SHIRT- TYPE GARMENT LolaR. spare, Pasadena, Cam Application-September 1, 1950, Serial No. 18mm 1 Claims; (01.2 115) have been utilizedrsfor producing. such fullness,

one being to make the garment of over-sized prOJDQrtions. In otheri cases mthe; material is shiritedsand gores or other-pieces: are" inset to provide-the necessary fullness;

It is wellknown that stretchability: of: thex O fabric .is an important factor to, be: considered: when designing ,a garment which is'gfio afford maximum comfortfor the-wear er since stretch or ffgive? of the fabricin respqnse to body movements, avoids binding and restraining of such movements. For this reason, knitted-fabric hav-- ing two-Way stretch has been employed 'exten-;; sively for the purpose, such fabric affording maxi-1 mum elasticity and Vstretchability, whileziprovide ing a closerfit of ,the article- 0f apparel-- .onaathexrBO body of the wearer. While; such: Iknitted; fabric? is used quite extensively garments::gof xwoven. fabric are preferable for the reason that garments of v Woven .l fabric retain T- their' shape. lands: ma

provide adequate freedom ;;,0f .l InQvement:ronly when. they are mada overrsized shirredtor rpro vided .With suitable insets. As will rbeapp'arentji 40 c o p du in such garment :is neces rily hishdueto the; largesamou-ntr of ,fabri'cx and the extra sewing operationsinvolved. :11

It is therefore an important obj,ec.t;;of this'invention to provide an art;i=:1c;:0f apparel'rof the" 5 shirt, or blouse type vvhich; is, made from:-.Woven= fabric and which allowsfull freedomzof.movement' of thebody,

in b e b sio ovide 'a garmentwof the character referredtq, in which; at leastwthe front"' portion thereof is l l rp tl' eibiasiof thervvov'en fabric so as to effect; two-way:stretchyithat is,

stretch in both horizontal 1 and: verticallzdirec tions. By this provision-fthegzfabrio:will:fg'ive or yield t bodymovements-so that maximum" cutsm'allerthan heretofo'rafand re H a special fitting of inset pieces, tlie time' required" shirt' type have" two-partfrcntsif the p k ing at "the vertioahcefiter and beingseparably; connected by buttons, slide fasteners or'foth er" fasteners In' othef garments of this'charact r Z flexibility and comfort" ares's ureafi tion; the use of a bias-cut frontre'sults saving of mater'ial 'afid' this' is-an import sideration." Since the 9 bias-cut "front to sew the pieces is miniini'ad and this further reduces the over-air cost of the-gar ent; At the present time garments the-front panel is made men's" piec el and entrant opening extends diagdnally "dovvnvv ar c lly and laterally from' the 'he'cl openingto facilitate -of the 'garmer 't oventhe i head of thewearer. In su'ch= a garmnt, slide f asteneris employed for=closing the entrant open f ings Since the material is cutori the i 's'traight donning and remov run of 1 the weaveand the entrantopening "ex'g" tends diagonallythereof; the edges of this open ing'ziare necessarily bias-cutfyFor this reason, itis extremely difficult to sewthe tapes pf the slide-fastener 'to 'the fabric 1 and puckering and fraying' the edge portions of the' 'miateri'al' in} variabl-y' result; It is thusano'ther object of the present invention' to avoid the 'deficienciesf'of prior g'arme'nts having diagonal 'entrant openings by" providing a garment 3 of" this class in which the weaveof the clothis's odisposedfthatthe l diagonal entrant opening extends parallel tothe 'jj weave," this objectbeing" I attained by making the Q front-panel in at least"two sections each cut Q 'onthe true bias of the weave; the meeting edges v of the fabric" sections"form'ing* the sides of the" entrant opening having *s ewed thereto the tapes of the slide fastener. By'thisstructure;'the front panel of the shirt or like garmentfii's' stretchable in both'lateral and'vert'ical 'directionsand'jsince the slide fastener itself is flexible anddistortable,

the material can be stretched "across the sep arable opening in saiddirectiOns; "It is thus seen'that b-y'thisinvention the front of the shirt is fully stretchable, even acro'ss'the slide fastener, so that maximum comfort and freedom of move-' merit of the body" are" attained:

Another object is'to provide a garment of the I type specified which may have pointe d'inset pieces forming the'sl'ioulders' of the g'arment, said pieces being 'cut on the bias' of the material and thus affording *stretch -at these portions" of the garment. p I

A further object is to provide a garment of the class indicated'in whicli'therear panel of im rt re; qu res n .3 the garment is formed with V-shaped notches adjacent the lower ends of its vertical side edges and in which the front panel has pointed projections at its corresponding portions, the pro jections being disposed in said notches and sewed to the edges of the same. By this means, the lower ends of the side seams of the garment are in the form of zig-zags and, since the projections are cut on the bias, two-way stretch of the same is possible so that strain, which frequently occurs at these portions of the garment and causes tearing of the cloth or pulling out of the seam stitches, is entirely avoided.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification and from the drawings which are intended for the purpose of illustration only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a garment of the sportshirt type made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a composite pattern of the several components of the shirt, illustrating the manner in which the pieces are cut from a single piece of woven fabric to obtain the bias-cut and the straight-cut pieces;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the bottom portion of one side of the shirt, illustrating a novel form of side seam; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front view of the upper portion of a shirt or blouse of alternative construction.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the sport shirt shown by way of example is embodied in a particular design to provide a pleasing appear ance but it is to be understood that the shirt may take other forms, within the scope of this invention. The shirt includes a substantially rectan gular back panel I l and a multi-part front panel l2 of generally rectangular shape, the vertical side edges of the panels being joined together in side seams |3. The upper side portions of the panels II and I2 are provided with arcuate cutout portions l4 and I5 which, when the panels are sewed together, provide armholes or sleeve openings. Sleeves H5 and I1, of conventional form, have their upper ends sewed into the armholes, the sleeves shown being of the short type.

Connected to and extending between the upper ends of the panels H and I2 is a shoulder piece l9 which has an edge sewed to the upper edge of the back panel II at 2| and edges 22 sewed to the upper edges of the front panel at the sides of the neck opening, as indicated at 23. A curved cut-out 24 of the shoulder piece l9 forms the back portion of the neck opening of the garment. A collar 25, composed of two pieces 26 and 2'! sewed together, has an edge 28 which is sewed to the arcuate edges forming the neck opening. As shown in Fig. 1, triangular extensions of the front panel l2, adjacent the neck opening are folded outwardly to provide lapel portions 39 which are sewed to edges 3| of the collar 25. Conventional facing pieces 32 have triangular portions 33 which overlie the front faces of the lapel portions and to which they are sewed along the edges thereof. The facing pieces 32 have curved edges 34 which are sewed to the inner edge of the collar 25 at 3|.

In accordance with the present invention, the front panel I2 is composed of at least two components, the present drawings showing the panel as made up from three sections 4!], 4!, and 42. The lower panel section consists of-a lower rectangular portion 43 and an upper pointed 4 portion 44, the angle included between the side edges 45 and 46 of the upper portion beihg pref erably The panel seotioh 40 has side edges 47 which fhrrn part of the side seams l3 of the garment. a

The panel sections 4| and 42 are identical in shape and size, each being of trapezium shape; The sections 4| and 42 have side edges 50, and El which are sewed to the corresponding side edges of the back panel along the seam l3. The sections also have edges 52 and 53 which are sewed to the edges 22 of the shoulder piece i9 and have arcuate edges 54 which form part of the neck opening and to which the collar 25 is sewed. The sections 4| and 42 have third sides 56 and 51, respectively, each of which formsthe edge of one of the apse 38 (Fig. 1). The foiirth sides '59 and 50 of the respective sections 4| and 32 are adapted to be connected to the respective sides 45 and 46 of the bottom section 40.

In accordance with the invention, the side 60 is sewed to the side 46 of the bottom section 40. The side 59 of the upper section 4|, however, is separably connected to the side 45 of the bottom panel throughout the greater portion of its length by means of a slide fastener 65. The fastener 55 is of conventional form and has tapes which carry the fastener elements, the tapes being sewed to the adjoining edges 59 and 45.

'In the embodiment of the invention disclosed in the drawings, the slide fastener extends diagonally from the lower end of the neck opening toward a side seam 4'! and terminates inwardly from said seam. In other cases, however, the slide fastener may extend outwardly to the side seam. I h

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be observed that an the components of the snirtdype gar merit shown inrigs. i and a may be readily out from a single piece of woven fabric. It is also to be observed that by laying out the pieces in the compact arrangement disclosed the several components may be cut from a piece of cloth of relatively small area. For example, by arranging the patterns as shown, all the components of a man's shirt of medium size can be out from a piece of fabric which measures approximately 36" x 50", this representing a large saving of material.

It is extremely important to note that the warp and filling or woof threads of the fabric respectively extend lengthwise and transversely of the piece of woven material, as indicated by the crossing arrows l0 and H at the upper left-hand corner of the fabric. By arranging the various patterns as shown in Fig. 3, the pieces I6, I9. 26, 2! and 32 are cut on the straight run of the Weave.

The front panel sections 40, 4| and 42, on the: other hand, are cut on the true bias of the weave. Consequently, when these sections are connected. as shown in Fig. 1, the entire front panel I2 is. arranged on the true bias of the fabric. Since the: diagonal edges 46, 60 and 45, 59 extend at angles. of 45 with respect to the vertical and horizontaL.

it is apparent that these edges extend parallel.

to the weave of the fabric and fraying or puckering of the material along these edges is minimized. This is especially important from the standpoint of manufacture since by the present invention the slide fastener tapes can be conveniently sewed in place in a minimum of time to produce smooth, unpuckered lines of joinder.

Assuming that the garment is to be donned by a person, the slide fastener 65 is first opened to provide a side opening which forms, in effect, a

continuation 1: ofii the neck 1 opening I tofacilitate slidingrgthe: garmentover 'the head and ont'o' the bodyzwiththeeiarms of the pers'on disposed in the arms elements: ointhe :ga'rment. if I After "the shirt ,hasizthusa been: donned, the slide faste'r'ier is operateduto closesthe opening-soaeto retain the shirt inzpla'ce on: the-- trunk of the wearer. when the wearer: engages in sports or" other physical eitercisefand-the shirt issubjectedto pulling, twistingor other stresses, the. entire: front-panel I2 isadaptedto'yieldto the body movements. That iszto say,.. due :to the fact tliat the anel I2 is cut and: arranged on the true bias of the weave, itopossesses: a high degree-.of stretchability and elasticity so: that it. isfcapable of distortion-, p'articularlyin vertical and lateral directions Conser1uently,; the. highly desirable st'retchabil-ity is attained withlthezuse o'f woven-fabric and wit'h outmakingthe garment over-sizeto allow free dom of ,movementof the body; It is" extremely important: to note that, since the slide fastener isfiexible and is'rarranged in a linewhichis per: alleltotheweave of-the bias-cut sections of the front panel, the fabric of the front pan el can" be stretchedbothzvertically and horizontally across the slide fastener so that the use of the separable fastener does:not?aficfi 'or-"irnpair the ability of the fabricsto. yieldnto. body. movements It will be apparent that other: fastener rnean's', such as buttons,,snapefasteners,setter-might be employed inli'errof the'separableslidefastener 65 disclosedin the drawingswlt is also obvious that the):frontpaneLsectionslQ and'fl 'may, if desired, be 'cutzfromiz a singlepiece of woven fabric a1- th'oughithis will result in an unsymmetrical appearance. andwnecessitate the-utilization of a larger piece of fabric from which the several components of the shirt or blouse are out.

While only the front panel l2 of the improved garment is shown herein as cut on the true bias of the weave, it will be understood that the back panel I I also may be so cut to attain even greater stretchability, although this has been found to be unnecessary for the reason that adequate freedom of body movement is produced by the construction herein disclosed. It has been determined that when either or both panels are cut on the bias and the lower end of the bias-cut panel is tucked under the belt of trousers or the waistband of pajamas, the fabric stretches or gives vertically and thus there is no tendency for the panel or panels to pull out from under the belt or waistband.

Referring now to Fig. 4, this invention contemplates means for minimizing the tendency of the garment to tear at the lower ends of the side seams due to strain imposed thereagainst. In this embodiment, the vertical side edges of the back panel II are provided with V-shaped notches T0 at their lower ends. The vertical side edges of the front panel l2 are provided with pointed projections H which are adapted to be disposed in the notches 10. During the assembling of the front and back panels along the seam I3, the corresponding diagonal edges of the notches 1-0 and the projections H are seamed together, as indicated by the line of stitches 12. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the triangular inset or projection H is stretchable in both vertical and horizontal directions due to the fact that it is cut on the bias of the weave. Consequently, when pulling forces are applied against the seam portions of the garment, the fabric will yield readily to prevent tearing of the material or displacement of the seam stitches.

F1??? V s'tfuctiorro'f a shirt or blou'se'q ln-this -ernb merit of the invention} the garment is-prov ded with elements '80 which have tubularportions 81 forming t'h'e' arms, and integral, pointed extensions" 82, the edges of which are sewed to the upper-smping'edg's of the front and backpanels, onlythefront'pa'nel 83 being illustrated; It is thiissehthat bythis construction a single piece of fabric provid's' both an arm and a shoulder portion-of me ger erit. It has been foundadvant'a'g'ous to ciit the ele'rnents 8U onthe biasof the weave so as to efie'ct 'st're'tchability and elasnew at fth e shoulder portions of the garment.

it -w'm be understood bythose versedin the garment art that variousmodifications might be madein the construction or the garment herein discl ed withoutdeparting from'the spirit of-the inv" j r 11*A shirt 'type garment of woven fabric-,com prisin'gi a back panel; and a front paneL-said; back and front panels defining} between them a neck opening-and armopenin'gsfsaid panels beingseamed a'long their vertical side edges, said-front panerteifig composedof at-least two sections sep'-f aiiblycbhnrited along a diagonal line, "said 'se 7 tionsb eir'i'gcuton the bias of the weave'w'i h said diagonal" line extending parallel to said 30 were s6 as tc aHmv 'stretch of said front V I tidal an'd' horizontal directions "across" ape-garments: waves fabric, "CO1n'-' "5* aback anel;- andfa front pal fili rft l front ane-1s de-finingbetween theirr" a op ngaiidarm openings," said panels being; seamed aldrig "their vertical side" edges, said front panel beingcomposed of at least two sections having adjoining edges permanently joined along a diagonal line, said sections being cut on the bias of the weave with said diagonal line extending parallel to said weave so as to allow stretch of said front panel in both vertical and horizontal directions across said diagonal line.

3. A shirt-type garment of woven fabric, comprising: a back panel; a front panel, said back and front panels being seamed along their vertical side edges and defining between them a neck opening and arm openings, said front panel being composed of at least two sections each cut on the bias of the weave and each having an edge extending parallel to said weave and diagonally with respect to said front panel, said edges substantially meeting in a diagonal line; and interengaging separable fastening means on said edges by which said sections can be separably and flexibly joined along said diagonal line, said front panel being stretchable in both vertical and horizontal directions across said diagonal line.

4. A shirt-type garment of woven fabric, comprising: a back panel; and a front panel, said back and front panels being seamed along their vertical side edges and defining between them a neck opening and arm openings, said front panel including a lower section having an upper pointed end providing upper diagonal edges, a first upper section having a lower diagonal edge joined to one of said upper diagonal edges in a diagonal seam, and a second upper section having a lower diagonal edge separably connected to the other of said upper diagonal edges and providing a diagonal connection, all of said sections meeting at the vertical center of said front panel, all of said sections being cut on the bias of the weave, said diagonal seam and said diagonal separable connection extending parallel to the weave so as to allow both vertical and horizontal stretch of the fabric across said diagonal seam and said diagonal connection.

5. A shirt-type garment of woven fabric, comprising: a back panel; and a front panel, said back and front panels being seamed along their vertical side edges and defining between them a neck opening and arm openings, said front panel including a lower section having an upper pointred end providing upper diagonal edges, a first upper section having a lower diagonal edge joined to one of said upper diagonal edges in a diagonal seam, and a second upper section having a lower diagonal edge separably connected to the other of said upper diagonal edges and providing a diagonal connection, all of said sections meeting at the vertical center of said front panel adjacent said neck opening, and all of said sections being cut on the bias of the Weave, said diagonal seam and said diagonal separable connection extending parallel to the weave so as to allow both vertical and horizontal stretch of the fabric across .said diagonal seam and said diagonal connection.

6. A shirt-type. garment of woven fabric, com- .prising: a back panel; and a front panel, said back and front panels being seamed along their vertical side edges and defining between them a neck opening and arm openings, said front panel including a lower section having an upper pointed end providing upper diagonal edges, a first upper section having a low-er diagonal edge joined to one of said upper diagonal edges in a diagonal seam, a second upper section having a lower diagonal edge disposed adjacent and extending alongside the other of said upper diagonal edges, and .a separable, flexible, slide fastener connected between said adjacent diagonal edges and normally retaining said diagonal edges in juxtaposition, all of said sections meeting at the vertical center of said front panels, and all of said sections being cut on the bias of the weave, said diagonal seam and said diagonal separable edges extending parallel to the weave so as to allow both vertical and horizontal stretch of the fabric across said diagonal seam and said slide fastener.

7. A shirt-type garment of woven fabric, comprising: a back panel; and a front panel, said back and front panels being seamed along their vertical side edges and definingbetween them a neck opening and arm openings, one of said panels being cut on the bias of the Weave and the other being cut on the straight run of the weave, each vertical side edge of'the non-bias cut panel having a notch at the intersection of the vertical edge and the lower edge of the panel, each vertical side edge of the bias-cut panel having a lateral projection of the same contour as said notch and inset therein, the edges of said projection being sewed to the corresponding edges of said notch.

LOLA R. SPARE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Yates c.. 0011.25, 949 

